Differences
by spockandawe
Summary: Just because they're together doesn't mean she'll always remember to treat him right. It's easy for Korra to tell herself that Bolin will understand if she can't make it to the dinner they've planned.


Based on a Tumblr request: Anonymous asked you

I was hoping you could write angry borra, like both of them are pissed at each other and ends in an angry make out session please?

Oops, they got de-angry before the kissing happened, sorry. I have trouble writing Bolin as staying angry for long. He cools off fast. Actually, I'm really surprised it took this long for Korra being insensitive to others' emotions and feeling personally attacked when criticized to get into my writing. I've got it in A Crooked House, but not much of it anywhere else. I do think that until she grew up a bit, she'd spend a lot of time hurting others and not even realizing. Also I basically had this same fight once what

* * *

"Hey, Bo, wake up." She grinned as she leaned over and ruffled his hair. "Bolin, this is a sofa. It can't be that comfortable."

After a minute he finally stretched and blinked sleepily up at her. "Korra?"

"Who were you expecting? Of course it's me."

"Oh."

"That's all I get? You're not happy to see me?" She laughed. "What are you doing out here? There aren't even any stairs between you and the bedroom, so I don't know why you ended up asleep on the sofa."

He rolled back over away from her. "What do you think I was doing out here? I was waiting for you."

Korra's laugh was a little more self-conscious now. "Oh, right. Look, I'm really sorry! We just got carried away, and by then it was so late that it was easiest to just spend the night at Asami's." She sat down against his back and put an arm over him. There was quiet for a minute as she waited for an answer. "I didn't mean anything by it."

He stood, shrugging off her arm and stepping away. "Korra, you told me you'd be home for dinner!"

"I said I _hoped_ I'd be home for dinner! You know how little I get to see Asami anymore. I see you every day! We lost track of time, and by then we'd both definitely missed dinner so we got food and drinks and it was so late that I was sure you were already in bed."

"Well, I wasn't in bed. I was sitting right here worrying that something might have happened to you. You know, we do have this thing called a telephone! It's really remarkable, you can call someone from across the city and-"

She stood too, her fists clenched. "Is that what this is all about? I mess up once and you get to just lay into me? I said I was _sorry!_"

"What is that sorry going to do for me? If I just say okay and forget about it, is anything going to change?"

"What are you talking about?"

Bolin rubbed his forehead and sighed. "Look, this isn't the first time something like this has happened."

"Everyone makes mistakes-"

"Let me finish, Korra! See, something like this happens. You apologize, I accept the apology, everything's good again, right? Well, no. It's not. Because now that I've given you some ground, you'll be willing to push that much harder next time. I accept _that _apology and it goes on and on until here we are! I'm upset because I expected you for dinner and didn't hear from you until the next morning, but you're still acting like I'm the unreasonable one."

Her face was an angry red. "Why are you dumping all of this on me now?"

"Because you won't notice anything else! Did you ever catch a hint that it makes me unhappy to be left hanging like this? Because it does! It makes me completely miserable! Or do you notice and you just don't care? This makes four times in just the last month that you've canceled on something we'd planned to do together without bothering to tell me-"

"You've been _counting?_" she shouted.

"I don't have to count! Because every time hurts, and every time you do this reminds me that you're just going to use me again!"

"Bolin, how am I supposed to know you're unhappy if you never say anything to me?"

"I don't think it was unreasonable for you to guess yourself! Would you be happy sitting alone in a restaurant for an hour, wondering if I'd even bother to come, then see me come walking in without a care in the world, with some excuse about losing track of time talking to Pema?"

"No, but you always smiled and said it was fine!" she wailed.

"But look! The first time I _didn't _do that, you jumped on me for being unreasonable. Korra, how do you think this feels? You can say you're with me, but it's like I mean less to you than any other friend you've got. You'll bend over backwards not to miss visiting Air Temple Island, but me- It's not easy, Korra. It's not easy to believe I'm important to you when this is how I get treated."

"Bolin, I never meant that-"

"I know." He shrugged. "Doesn't make it hurt less."

She took a tentative step closer and reached for him. He kept his eyes determinedly on the floor, but didn't resist as she took his hand in hers. There was silence for a time, and then she spoke. "I don't want to ruin things between us like this. I can be better."

"I'm not trying to force you to change-"

"Well I want to treat you right. Look, I'll work on it. But you have to do something for me."

He finally lifted his head to meet her eyes. "What?"

"You have to tell me if something's wrong." She made a face. "We both know I'm not the most sensitive person out there. You can't expect me to read your mind."

His cheeks went red. "Oh, right." They stood like that for some minutes, and then he sighed, "Do you think it'll work? We'll work?"

Korra put a hand on his neck and pulled his lips down to hers. When they broke apart she said, "I'm not ready to give you up yet. It might not be perfect, but I still want you. As long as you want me back, we can _make_ it work."


End file.
